Students from Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and other nations jointly explore lesser-known histories of the Atlantic World, with a particular focus on non-European, non-white, and non-male perspectives. Their hair-raising journey through forgotten avenues of time results in a richly visual digital magazine that documents history from alternative perspectives.
Dr. Robynne Rogers Healey, Professor of History and Co-director of the Gender Studies Institute at Trinity Western University, leads upper-level History and International Studies students to research and produce a richly visual digital magazine that documents history from alternative perspectives.
The summative project for Dr. Healey’s course, History 392/592 – Sugar, Slaves, Silver: The Atlantic World, 1450 – 1850, demands rigorous research, journalistic savvy, as well as creative flair. It is an uncommon project for the field of history, but it reflects Dr. Healey’s teaching style, which engages students through tapping into learners’ own interests and motivations. In a recent podcast interview, she refers to this as teaching history “from the bottom up.”
In this way, Dr. Healey partners with students in their own education. Through teaching history, she helps students to locate their identity within a broader, global context. She often encourages students to consider aspects of history that are personally meaningful to them, “Because once it matters [to the student],” says Dr. Healey, “it makes all the difference.”
Dr. Healey is known to challenge students in their summative projects to interact meaningfully with history, whether through producing a documentary, blog, or other creative means of presentation.
Discovering alternative perspectives on history
This year, the summative project in Dr. Healey’s course is a jointly produced digital magazine called Amnesia: Forgotten people, places, politics and popular culture, a stunningly attractive publication exploring interconnections between the geographic spaces around the Atlantic Ocean.
As for editorial direction, the project intentionally represents alternative perspectives on history.
“Where Europe and Europeans appear, we have tried to adopt an Atlantic perspective that is not strictly European,” says Dr. Healey.
Over a few short months, ten writers—two of whom were also the magazine’s graphic designers—researched and wrote over 23 articles on “forgotten” aspects of the Atlantic world. Students purposely pursued lesser known topics, or chose to uncover the history behind well-recognized but oft-romanticized histories, for example, pirates in the Caribbean seas, or Pocahontas.
The result of their work is a hair-raising journey through forgotten avenues of time. One student, Olivia Knull, uncovered the economics of the slave trade, and calculated in today’s currency the cost of slaves for the next owner. Knull was taking a Global Information Systems (GIS) class at the same time as the Atlantic History course, and her project is an example of the incredible possibilities of interdisciplinary scholarship. Another writer, Monet Lamphere, explains the development of perceived moral, cultural, and religious superiority among European societies, as seen through historical documents.
The students also presented their work virtually before an international panel of academics that included professors from the U.S., U.K., and eastern Canada.
Dr. Healey is impressed by her students’ work, particularly as the process of finding forgotten histories is no easy task. Information can be scarce, and students may face many challenges in their hunt for rare records. Reflecting on the hiddenness of these sources, Dr. Healey says, “The fact that that silence is there in the record—that silence itself says something.”
To read the full magazine, please see Amnesia: Forgotten people, places, politics and popular culture.
To listen to Dr. Healey’s recent interview, please see the Learning Matters: a Bridge to Practice Podcast with Dr. Scott Macklin.
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About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to find and fulfill their purpose in life. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vibrant faith community devoted to supporting godly leaders seeking to have a transformational impact on culture.
For media inquiries, please contact media@twu.ca.